Business
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Attorneys for Priscilla Presley are suing four of her former business partners over allegations of elder abuse and fraud, accusing them of a “meticulously planned” scheme to drain Elvis Presley’s ex-wife of “every last penny she had.”
In a complaint filed Thursday (July 18) in Los Angeles court, lawyers for Presley, 79, accuse Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, Vahe Sislyan and Lynn Walker Wright of fraudulently convincing her to give them power over nearly every aspect of her life — and then abusing that control to steal her money.
“This action arises out of a meticulously planned and abhorrent scheme by the defendants in this action to prey on an older woman by gaining her trust, isolating her from the most important people in her life, and duping her into believing that they would take care of her (personally and financially), while their real goal was to drain her of every last penny she had,” writes high-profile attorney Martin Singer, who now represents Presley.
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Calling Kruse a “con-artist and pathological liar,” Singer says the defendants took more than $1 million from Presley and convinced her to sign a deal that would give them 80% of her future income.
“The fact that the plaintiff in this case is internationally recognized actress, author, and cultural icon … demonstrates both how effective the defendants’ plan was (and needed to be), and how anyone can be a victim of elder abuse and fraud,” Singer writes.
The new case comes eight months after Kruse’s company, Priscilla Presley Partners, filed its own lawsuit against Priscilla in Florida. That case claimed that Presley illegally turned her back on Kruse and Fialko after they had helped her “dig herself out of impending financial ruin,” including negotiating the deal that led to last year’s Priscilla biopic.
But in Thursday’s new lawsuit, Singer argues that the earlier case was merely a cover for Kruse and Fialko’s alleged misdeeds.
“When it became clear to the defendants that their scheme had been uncovered, they attempted to falsely portray themselves as the victims by filing a lawsuit against Presley in Florida in the name of several of the sham companies they established, alleging that Presley breached the fraudulently-induced operating agreements,” her legal team writes.
According to the complaint, Sislyan is Kruse’s husband and participated in the scheme; and Walker-Wright is an Orlando-area attorney who allegedly helped the others carry it out.
Singer and Priscilla’s other attorneys say that Kruse and the others “established a personal relationship” with her and then used it to “isolate her from her long-time business and financial advisors,” whom they argued were “deceitful or incompetent” and causing her to lose money. Once they had isolated her, the lawsuit says, Kruse and the others took steps to “fraudulently induce” Presley into signing over power of attorney, giving them control over her trusts and bank accounts, and signing deals with “sham” companies like Priscilla Presley Partners.
One of those deals, the lawsuit says, gave the defendants “an exclusive license to exploit and profit off of her name, image, and likeness, and to control and receive virtually all of her income from any of her professional ventures.”
“Dissatisfied with what existing resources they could siphon from her, the defendants’ plan involved usurping control over her ability to control her finances going forward and forcing her into a form of indentured servitude, where plaintiff was forced to work so that they could receive the lion’s share of any revenue that she was able to earn in the future,” Singer writes.
An attorney for Kruse and Priscilla Presley Partners did not immediately return a request for comment on the allegations. Walker-Wright also did not return a request for comment.
Melissa Etheridge is facing a legal battle over her brief foray into the cannabis business, filed by two business partners in Northern California who claim that the singer “abandoned them” and left them in “financial ruin.”
The Grammy-winning songwriter, who rose to stardom in the 1990s with hits like “Come to My Window” and “I’m The Only One,” announced in 2019 that she would launch Etheridge Farms, which aimed to bring the benefits of cannabis to middle-aged women. “They’re looking to cannabis, and I want Etheridge Farms to be right there to answer what they’re looking for,” the singer said at the time.
But five years later, her former business partners now claim that Etheridge and her wife effectively torpedoed the company by refusing to support it. In a legal petition filed July 9 and obtained by Billboard, Josephine and D’Angelo Roberto say they’ve been “left with nothing.”
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“The Robertos trusted the Etheridges and invested their life’s work into the businesses,” writes attorney Christopher Frost of the law firm Frost LLP, representing the Robertos. “Unfortunately, their hard work did not end in a success story, but rather betrayal and abandonment.”
The filing is a demand for arbitration, which initiates a litigation-like case that will play out similar to a lawsuit. But such cases, often required under corporate operating agreements, are decided by an arbitrator behind closed doors rather than by a judge in an open courtroom.
Representatives for the Etheridges, including their attorney who received the arbitration demand, did not return repeated requests for comment on the dispute. Attorneys for the Robertos declined to comment.
A Budding Partnership
The Robertos (nicknamed Jozee and Cricket) say they met Etheridge and her wife Linda Wallem-Etheridge via mutual friends in Northern California in 2017, and that the foursome then hatched a plan to launch a series of cannabis businesses, including Etheridge Farms and Etheridge Botanicals. In a 2019 article in San Jose’s Mercury News, the singer said she had been inspired in part by using cannabis amid a battle with breast cancer in the 2000s.
“I came out of chemotherapy saying, I want to be an advocate for this, I believe in this as medicine so deeply,” she told the Mercury News. “I started looking around California going, OK, what do I need to do — I want to be part of this — I actually turned to my friends and said, I want to be the face of cannabis.” In that same article, Jozee was quoted as saying that the Etheridges “genuinely share the same values that Cricket and I share about health and wellbeing.”
According to legal filings, the group secured a rental lease in 2018 on a large facility in Soquel, Calif. to manufacture and distribute their products, and also locked down important regulatory licenses for that property.
The plan, according to the Robertos, was for the couple to contribute their extensive cannabis industry expertise and work on product development, while the Etheridges would use their celebrity status to promote the business, seek outside investors, and continue to support the business financially.
Left High and Dry?
But while the Robertos say they “devoted every ounce of their money, time and attention” to the businesses, they claim the Etheridges failed to do the same. They say she failed to promote the business, and then stopped supporting the business financially. According to legal filings, by 2020 that allegedly included failing to pay the rent at the Soquel facility as promised; when the landlord finally booted them, the Robertos say it cost the business crucial regulatory licenses that had been tied to that property.
“Despite their persistent efforts, following the Etheridges’ complete lack of engagement and financial support to the Etheridge entities, the LLC sales and performance eventually withered away,” attorneys for the couple write in the demand for arbitration.
The alleged breakdown in the business came amid great personal tragedy for Etheridge. In May 2020, the singer announced that Beckett Cypher, her son with former partner Julie Cypher, had died from causes related to opioid addiction. Months later, the singer launched the Etheridge Foundation to advocate for and support research into new treatments for opioid addiction.
Those tragic events are not directly mentioned in the new legal filings, but attorneys for the Robertos allude to them in making their case.
“The Etheridges suffered personal losses for which the Robertos have much empathy,” the couple’s lawyers write in their filing earlier this month. “However, notwithstanding these personal losses and given the challenges faced by the parties, the Etheridges ultimately decided to let all of the joint ventures ‘die on the vine,’ stopped covering expenses that they promised to pay, and left the Robertos in a much worse situation.”
In technical terms, the demand for arbitration accuses the Etheridges of breaching their fiduciary duty to the companies; breaching their contract with the Robertos; violating legal promises they made to the couple; and making fraudulent and negligent misrepresentations.
The pair are seeking an undetermined amount of damages, but say they’re entitled to at least $3 million: “The Robertos have not pursued this action and are not proceeding to arbitration for fame or fortune or as a vendetta,” their lawyers write. “Rather, they simply seek compensation for the suffering they have had to endure and the financial ruin they have experienced due to the Etheridges abandoning them.”
Post Malone played what may have been the biggest concert in North America this summer last Friday, July 12. At Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) in Quebec City, he performed a show for over 100,000 people on the historic Plains of Abraham. That’s par for the course for FEQ, which gets major stars in a variety of genres for 10 days every year, yet, outside of Quebec, remains somewhat under the radar.
Malone played after opening sets by Canadian band Valley and rising pop/country artist Jessie Murph. His set was teed up with a crowd singalong to “Sweet Caroline,” before a string section heralded Post’s entrance onto the stage. He started with his 2018 hit “Better Now,” with huge fireworks erupting at every chorus. Throughout the next two hours, he played songs from the Ozzy Osbourne-sampling “Take What You Want” to “Sunflower,” “Congratulations” and the recent No. 1 hit “I Had Some Help.”
He broke out some adorably silly dance moves and basked in the applause after every song, which seemed to take him aback. At one point, he even brought up a Quebecer from the audience named Felix, who joined him on stage to chug from a red solo cup and then strum an acoustic guitar while Post Malone crooned “Stay.”
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This year’s FEQ took place from July 4-14 and boasted headliners from 50 Cent to the Jonas Brothers, Nickelback to the Zac Brown Band.
While FEQ gets major artists for those main stage performances, artistic director Louis Bellavance says it’s not only about getting the biggest acts. “All of them have a function, a role to play in what we’re building,” he says.
It’s about finding the right types of genres and acts that resonate with the Quebec audience, which can sometimes differ from the rest of Canada and the United States, he says. R&B doesn’t play as well as in other markets, nor do many English Canada rock bands. That’s not to say rock doesn’t go over well, though — Mötley Crue packed the stage on the final night, Sunday, July 14, with a crowd much more multi-generational than you might think for a band whose sound and antics peaked in the ’80s.
One new addition this year was Saturday night’s all-Spanish mainstage night of J Balvin, Ivan Cornejo and GALE. FEQ has booked Latin artists before, but never as big as this year’s showcase. It was clear people travelled for the event, with Colombian superstar Balvin spotlighting all the flags in the front row and fans from Spanish-speaking countries around the world. Mexico, Spain, Peru, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Honduras and Colombia were all “in la casa,” he said.
Read more from FEQ here. -Richard Trapunski
Canadian Country Music Association Awards 2024 Nominations: Jade Eagleson, MacKenzie Porter Lead The Pack
The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has announced the official nominees for the 2024 CCMA Awards. Topping the list of contenders with six nods apiece are Jade Eagleson and MacKenzie Porter, the latter of whom will co-host the awards show alongside American country star Thomas Rhett.
Hot on their heels with five nominations apiece are The Reklaws and Josh Ross, while High Valley, Owen Riegling and Dallas Smith are each cited in four categories. Other notable Canadian artists making the list include Dean Brody, Steven Lee Olsen, James Barker Band, Brett Kissel, Tenille Townes and Lindsay Ell.
The awards show takes place in Edmonton, at Rogers Place in the heart of downtown, on Saturday Sept. 14 at 8 pm ET, and is broadcast by CTV.
Performers include Dasha, Jade Eagleson, Brett Kissel, The Reklaws, MacKenzie Porter, Thomas Rhett and Dallas Smith, with more to be named.
Two major CCMA Award categories are open for public voting by country music fans across Canada. This year’s Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year nominees are Hailey Benedict, Dax, Teigen Gayse, Matt Lang and Owen Riegling, and fans can vote for their favourite at ccmafanvote.com.
The 2024 Fans’ Choice nominees are Dean Brody, Jade Eagleson, High Valley, James Barker Band, Tyler Joe Miller, Steven Lee Olsen, MacKenzie Porter, The Reklaws, Josh Ross and Dallas Smith.
Find the full list of nominees here. –Kerry Doole
ScHoolboy Q’s Toronto Concert Cancelled, Blames Drake’s Beef with Kendrick Lamar
A cancelled show is seemingly connected to the year’s biggest story in rap music: the heated beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
ScHoolboy Q was supposed to perform a sold-out show at Toronto venue History on Thursday (July 18). But Q took to X Wednesday to announce that the show had been cancelled, supposedly due to the feud: “CANADIAN POLICE DONT WANT NOBODY FROM TDE [Lamar’s label] PERFORMING..” he wrote.
ScHoolboy Q used to be in the group Black Hippy with Kendrick Lamar and is a former labelmate on Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Lamar left the label last year. The venue History is a partnership between Live Nation and Drake.
Q went on to post several times about the show, referencing PartyNextDoor’s recent performance at the Hollywood Palladium in Lamar and ScHoolboy’s hometown of L.A.: “if we wanted to get yall we would’ve just did it.. now wHen sumbody get Hurt don’t cry…”
Q later clarified that he found the cancellation funny and didn’t mean his post as a threat, but as advice: “I neva said “ ima kill sumbody” im saying if we wanted to crack it off we could’ve smH,” he wrote, “ima soccer dad.”
ScHoolboy Q, who performed at Lamar’s June 14 Pop Out Concert, is also briefly featured in Lamar’s video for the Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” which has added some fire back to a fight that was on the verge of dying down. Q and Lamar go back a long way, as former collaborators in Black Hippy alongside Jay Rock and Ab-Soul.
Drake posted an Instagram story following Q’s posts on X, leading some to speculate that he was trolling the rapper. In the shared story, Drake is seemingly sporting blue slides, possibly referencing ScHoolboy’s single of the same name.
He’s also wearing a shirt that reads “Free Yayo,” a reference to hip hop artist Tony Yayo who in a recent interview spoke about not wanting to get caught up in the Drake/Kendrick beef.
“You don’t wanna say something about Drake and f–ckin can’t go to Canada,” he told VladTV.
Though no official explanation for the cancellation has been revealed, the event page for the concert on Ticketmaster states that it was cancelled by the event organizer.
“The decision to cancel this event was made by the venue, not by the Toronto Police Service,” says a spokesperson from the Toronto Police Service.
Billboard Canada has reached out to Live Nation for comment.
The cancellation follows a recent attack on Rick Ross — who previously released Drake diss track “Champagne Moments” — in Vancouver, while “Not Like Us” played at the concert. Drake liked a post about the incident at the time. – Rosie Long Decter
Welcome to yet another edition of Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. While you’re here, we also have a weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Victoria (Torie) Mason was elevated to oversee Warner Music Nashville‘s newly rebranded marketing and digital departments, but misplace your reading glasses and you may not spot the change in the WMG veteran’s title. The Nashville-based home of Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Ingrid Andress and Randy Travis promoted Mason from senior vp of strategic marketing and analysis to senior vp of marketing and analytics — a subtle tweak but it now means Mason will oversee an expanded marketing division that encompasses artist marketing, digital marketing, analytics, brand partnerships, video strategy and advertising strategy. As part of the changes, the label’s Artist Development team will merge into the wider Marketing department, while the Interactive Marketing team will now be called Digital Marketing. “This new structure will allow us to continue to super-serve our artists and their music with more focus and urgency,” explained WMN co-chair and co-president Ben Kline. Mason joined Warner in late 2011 as director of research and analytics and worked her way up to svp by August 2021.
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Elsewhere at WMN, Mary Catherine Rebrovick was promoted from senior director of publicity to vice president of publicity. Rebrovick joined the label in July 2012 as an assistant for then-vp of publicity Tree Paine, who has gone on to work exclusively with someone named Taylor Swift. “Little did either one of us know that 12 years later, I’d be taking that title myself (and she’d be taking the mega title of legendary publicist to the current Queen of Pop),” said Rebrovick on social media, according to Music Row. “Happy full circle anniversary to me.”
More Warner, you say? Tat Tong joined Warner Chappell Music as vice president of A&R and creative, Asia Pacific. The industry veteran joins WCM from Sony Music, where he was A&R director for RCA Records Greater China. In his new role, Tong will lead all things creative in the region and oversee the signing and development of new talent and music-related projects. Tong is also an accomplished producer and songwriter, with credits on tracks by Luis Fonsi, Troye Sivan and CNCO, among others, and he’s currently working on a musical stage adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians. “The APAC music scene is rapidly growing and evolving, and I’m excited to join the Warner Chappell Music team in this role,” said Tong. “I’m eager to leverage my expertise and knowledge of the regional markets to discover and develop exceptional songwriting talent.”
Meanwhile…
Virgin Music Group wants you to know that Justin Bumper Reeve is their senior vp of global sync, overseeing licensing opportunities for VMG artists and labels across film, television, video games, advertising and more. Technically speaking, Bumper has been grinding at Virgin since August 2023, following a highly successful 16-year stretch as founder and head of sync at his boutique sync licensing firm Hidden Tracks, where he negotiated thousands of placements for a roster including Courtney Barnett, Haim, Major Lazer and others. Since joining Virgin last year, Reeve’s sync wins include BTS’s “Dynamite” in the latest Despicable Me movie and bbno$’s “edamame (feat. Rich Brian)” for a Mountain Dew Super Bowl ad, among others. “Bumper is one of the most successful and respected creative sync executives in the business,” said Jeremy Kramer, executive vp of global marketing at Virgin. “He is already proving to be invaluable for our label and artists clients around the world, having already secured syncs with global blue chip brands and some of the most commercially successful films and television shows.”
Kenny Ochoa
Courtesy of Splice
Kenny Ochoa is Splice‘s new senior vp of content, overseeing the music tech platform’s build-out of its catalog of royalty-free, human-made samples. Based in Los Angeles and reporting to Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava, Ochoa’s remit also includes industry outreach and partnerships with artists. Ochoa joins Splice from Snap, where he served as head of music curation and licensing. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at Warner Music, Sony Music and Sanctuary. “This is a critical time in our industry, so it was vital that we found someone with the relationships, taste and passion to help us build and prepare for the future of music creation” said Srivastava.
Alison Finley, a veteran music lawyer and label executive, joined tech-driven law firm Pierson Ferdinand, LLP as a partner in the corporate department. Finley is fresh off a seven-year tenure at Universal Music Group, where she rose from senior vp to executive vp from mid-2017 to March of this year, with a 20-month stint as the COO of Motown in the middle. At UMG, she oversaw strategy and negotiations for the company including for label ventures, record deals, label distribution, merchandise, vendors and brand partners. At Motown, she oversaw the iconic R&B and hip-hop label’s day-to-day operations. Finley has also served as general counsel at Ultra Music and on the board of trustees of the TJ Martell Foundation. “I have known and admired Alison Finley essentially my entire career, having been on the opposite side of deals from her for more than two decades,” said Steve Sidman, co-chair of PierFerd’s Global Media, Entertainment & Sports practice group. “I much prefer being on the same team as Alison, so the minute I learned of her free agency, I leaped at the opportunity to ask her to join us.”
300 Entertainment promoted Az Cohen to vp of A&R and research, Janelle Gibbs to vp of publicity, and Tashana Ventura to vp of marketing. In their new roles, Cohen will continue to sign and develop new acts, while Gibbs will help those artists with media messaging and storytelling, and Ventura will work with them on partnerships and release strategy. Cohen joined 300 in 2014 and has been instrumental in shaping the company’s A&R structure. Gibbs was hired in 2022 as a senior director and has worked with Gunna, HUNXHO and Tee Grizzley, among others. Ventura joined in 2018 as director of marketing and was promoted to senior director in 2020, also working closely with HUNXHO. “Az, Janelle, and Tashana embody the spirit of 300 Entertainment,” said 300 co-presidents Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab. “They live and breathe music, devoting themselves to their artists and tirelessly supporting their fellow team members. With their respective skillsets, diehard passion, and bold ideas, they truly represent a new vanguard of music industry executives.”
Mallary Birdsong
Universal Music Group‘s merch and brand management arm, Bravado, appointed industry veteran Mallary Birdsong as senior director of brand management. Birdsong will be based in Bravado’s Nashville office and represent their country roster while reporting to Brian Schechter, senior vp and head of brand management, artist relations. She joins Bravado from Make Wake Artists, where she worked with Luke Combs, Josh Abbott Band, Dillon Carmichael and more. Prior to MWA, she held managerial roles at Dallas Fan Fares and BV3. “Mallary’s multifaceted industry experience is exactly what we look for to help bring our artist’s vision to life,” said Schechter. “I couldn’t be happier to welcome her to the team as we continue to build out our presence in Nashville.”
Berklee has found its next president in Jim Lucchese, the former Echo Nest CEO and founding global head of Creator at Spotify. Lucchese, a longtime drummer based in Boston, was most recently CEO of concert curation and artist services company Sofar Sounds. He begins his role as Berklee’s fifth president on New Year’s Day, 2025. Until then, Berklee’s provost, David Bogen, will continue serving as interim president, and Betsy Newman, senior vp of student enrollment and engagement, will remain as interim executive vp. “It is an immense honor to become a part of the Berklee community, an institution that means so much to me personally and has been a singularly positive force for creativity around the world,” said Lucchese.
NASHVILLE NOTES: Big Loud Records added Lisa Smoot as director, secondary promotion. Smoot joins Big Loud following a nearly two-decade tenure with Jerry Duncan Promotions, where she rose from promotions coordinator to vice president. In her new role at Big Loud, Smoot will oversee secondary promotion across the label’s roster of country singles … Bassist-educator David Abdo joined PLA Media as a publicist … Cox Media Group named Brad Smith CFO on a permanent basis after operating for six months as interim co-CFO.
International production company 1stAveMachine appointed music video director Emil Nava, director/founder of Ammolite Studios, to lead its music division for global commercials and music content. Along with his appointment, Nava has also partnered with 1stAve on Ammolite Machine, a new music and culture venture. According to a press release, Ammolite Machine will bring Nava’s “years of expertise” to the “evolving landscape” of music visuals, boasting “a 360 degree creative offering, which supports music artists and brands to connect with culture, technology and creative storytelling.” Nava has worked with Calvin Harris, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Post Malone, among many others. –Chris Eggertsen
Activist Artists Management welcomed Karly Brecher as an artist manager. Based in Los Angeles, Brecher works closely with The Pretty Reckless and other artists on the Activist roster. The Syracuse grad has nearly a decade of management experience, most recently from a two-and-a-half year stretch at SB Projects and HYBE America, where she worked with Scooter Braun and a roster headlined by Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande. Earlier in her career, Brecher spent several years at Laffitte Management Group. “Karly brings a decade of experience and a proven track record handling day-to-day responsibilities and branding for an eclectic group of global artists,” said Activist founding partner Bernie Cahill.
Opry Entertainment Group added Samantha Kane as artist relations manager and Ariana Cubillos Voegler as artist relations coordinator. Kane and Voegler will both contribute to the development of artist and industry relations at the Grand Ole Opry and at Opry Entertainment Group. Kane and Voegler will report to Jordan Pettit, director of artist relations & programming strategy, and join Jenn Tressler, artist & label strategy senior manager, on the team. –Jessica Nicholson
The Chamber Group promoted Cassandre Souvenir and Desmond Sam to PR manager at the boutique PR and marketing agency. Souvenir’s career path has included stints at Yelp and BET, plus time as a flight attendant, while Sam’s CV includes sales and styling experience at Patricia Field and time as a community director at VFiles. Both are based in NYC and report to CEO Chris Chambers, who said “Desmond and Cassandre have worked very hard for this promotion, strengthened their relationships and continue to find new ways to deliver for our clients.”
RADIO, RADIO: Southern California Public Radio hired Alejandra Santamaria as its new president and CEO. The executive, who recently served as interim president, general manager and VP, director of sales for Univision Los Angeles, succeeds Herb Scannell in the role (THR) … David Kantor announced he’ll be retiring as Radio One‘s CEO at the end of the year.
ICYMI:
Eddie Rosenblatt
Longtime Geffen Records president Eddie Rosenblatt passed away at age 89 … Miles Beard and David Wolter are the new co-heads of A&R at Republic Records … Sony Music U.K. and Ireland chairman/CEO Jason Iley has been announced as this year’s recipient of the U.K.’s Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS) in recognition of his contribution to the record business … and Livelihood Music Co. added hit-makers Jacob “JKash” Kasher Hindlin and Michael Pollack to its team as principals.
Last Week’s Turntable: Big Loud Promotes a ‘Day-One Believer’
The lawsuits filed by the major labels against the AI companies Suno and Udio could be the most important cases to the music business since the Supreme Court Grokster decision, as I explained in last week’s Follow the Money column. The outcomes are hard to predict, however, because the central issue will be “fair use,” a U.S. legal doctrine shaped by judicial decisions that involves famously — sometimes notoriously — nuanced determinations about art and appropriation. And although most creators focus more on issues around generative AI “outputs” — music they’ll have to compete with or songs that might sound similar to theirs — these cases involve the legality of copying music for the purposes of training AI.
Neither Suno nor Udio has said how they’re trained their AI programs, but both have essentially said that copying music in order to do so would qualify as fair use. Determining that could touch on the development of Google Books, the compatibility of the Android operating system, and even a Supreme Court case that involves Prince, Andy Warhol and Vanity Fair. It’s the kind of fair use case that once inspired a judge to call copyright “the metaphysics of the law.” So let’s get metaphysical!
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Fair use essentially provides exceptions to copyright, usually for the purpose of free expression, allowing for quotation (as in book or film reviews) and parody (to comment on art), among other things. (The iconic example in music is the Supreme Court case over 2 Live Crew’s parody of Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman.”) These determinations involve a four-factor test that weighs “the purpose and character of the use”; “the nature of the copyrighted work”; how much and how important a part of the work is used; and the effect of the use upon the potential market value of the copyrighted work. Over the last decade or so, though, the concept of “transformative use,” derived from the first factor, expanded in a way that allowed the development of Google Books (the copying of books to create a database and excerpts) and the use of some Oracle API code in Google’s Android system — which could arguably be said to go beyond the origins of the concept.
Could copying music for the purposes of machine learning qualify as well?
In a paper on the topic, “Fair Use in the U.S. Redux: Reformed or Still Deformed,” the influential Columbia Law School professor Jane Ginsburg suggests that the influence of the transformative use argument might have reached its peak. (I am oversimplifying a very smart paper, and if you are interested in this topic, you should read it.)
The Supreme Court decision on the Google-Oracle case involved part of a computer program, far from the creative “core” of copyright, and music recordings would presumably be judged differently. The Supreme Court also made a very different decision last year in a case that pitted the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts against prominent rock photographer Lynn Goldsmith. The case involved an Andy Warhol silkscreen of Prince, based on a Goldsmith photograph that the magazine Vanity Fair had licensed for Warhol to use. Warhol used the photo for an entire series — which Goldsmith only found out about when the magazine used the silkscreen image again for a commemorative issue after Prince died.
On the surface, this seemed to cast the Supreme Court Justices as modern art critics, in a position to judge all appropriation art as infringing. But the case wasn’t about whether Warhol’s silkscreen inherently infringed Goldsmith’s copyright but about whether it infringed it for licensed use by a magazine, in a way where it could compete with the original photo. There was a limit to transformative use, after all. “The same copying,” the court decided, “may be fair when used for one purpose but not another.”
So it might constitute fair use for Google to copy entire books for the purpose of creating a searchable database about those books with excerpts from them, as it did for Google Books — but not necessarily for Suno or Udio to copy terabytes of recordings to spur the creation of new works to compete with them, especially if it results in similar works. In the first case, it’s hard to find real economic harm — there will never be much of a market for licensing book databases — but there’s already a nascent market for licensing music to train AI programs. And, unlike Google Books, the AI programs are designed to make music to compete with the recordings used to train them. Obviously, licensing music to train an AI program is what we might call a secondary use — but so is turning a book into a film, and no one doubts they need permission for that.
All of this might seem like I think the major labels will win their cases, but that’s a tough call — the truth is that I just don’t think they’ll lose. And there’s a lot of space between victory and defeat here. If one of these cases ends up going to the Supreme Court — and if one of these doesn’t, another case about AI training surely will within the next few years — the decision might be more limited than either side is looking for, since the court has tended to step lightly around technology issues.
It’s also possible that the decision could depend on whether the outputs that result from all of this training are similar enough to copyrighted works to qualify, or plausibly qualify, as infringing. Both label lawsuits are full of such examples, presumably because that could make a difference. These cases are about the legality of AI inputs, but a fair use determination on that issue could easily involve whether those inputs lead to infringing output.
In the end, Ginsburg suggests, “system designers may need to disable features that would allow users to create recognizable copies.” Except that — let’s face it — isn’t that really part of the fun? Sure, AI music creation might eventually grow to maturity as some kind of art form — it already has enormous practical value for songwriters — but for ordinary consumers it’s still hard to beat Frank Sinatra singing Lil Jon’s “Get Low.” Of course, that could put a significant burden on AI companies — with severe consequences for crossing a line that won’t always be obvious. It might be easier to just license the content they need. The next questions, which will be the subject of future columns, involve exactly what they need to license and how they might do that, since it won’t be easy to get all the rights they need — or in some cases even agree on who controls them.
BMG and Cirque du Soleil have formed a partnership to handle the live entertainment company’s musical catalog, as well as explore a number of music-oriented initiatives.
The agreement calls for BMG to be the label home for Cirque’s catalog of original scores and soundtracks, administer its music publishing and jointly create new music.
The first release under the pact is the country-themed Songblazers, out today. Songblazers is Cirque’s newest production, presented in conjunction with Universal Music Group Nashville, about two characters who go on a journey to find their own path to country music stardom. The soundtrack was produced by Grammy-winning producer Daniel Tashian.
The partnership will be led by Cirque du Soleil’s new music division, Cirque du Soleil Studio, which is tasked with expanding the brand’s fan base.
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“The power of music has long been a force uniting cultures and peoples in Cirque du Soleil productions around the world. As music plays an integral part in our productions, we’re proud to finally dive into the music industry and explore this new avenue,” said Anne Belliveau, chief customer experience officer for Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group. “Over the last few years, BMG has brought a fresh vision to the music business, and we look forward to partnering with BMG on a variety of music-related opportunities.”
Marian Wolf, senior vp of music publishing, North America, for BMG added, “Cirque du Soleil is one of the most innovative and creative entertainment companies in the world. We are thrilled to be the new publishing and recorded music home for Cirque du Soleil and to collaborate on upcoming new releases. This will provide unparalleled opportunities for BMG’s diverse roster of artists, songwriters, and catalogs. Together we aim to celebrate and elevate global culture by showcasing diverse music releases and transforming the way global audiences discover new music.”
Cirque’s catalog includes more than 30 titles including the recordings to such popular Cirque du Soleil productions as Ka, O, Alegria, Mystere, La Nouba, Dralion, Saltimbanco, Zumanity and Quidam. (The deal does not include Love, the Cirque production based on the Beatles catalog; that title remains on Apple/Capitol. Separately, BMG has publishing and recording relationships with Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison).
Cirque’s catalog has earned more than 250 million career streams in the U.S .and more than 500,000 album equivalents sold in the US alone, according to the company.
A coalition of some of the world’s biggest independent labels, including Beggars Group, Partisan Records, Sub Pop and Because Music, have joined forces to launch a “first-of-its-kind” think tank to promote better understanding of the global music business among governments and policymakers — and advocate on the industry’s behalf.
The Organization for Recorded Culture and Arts, or ORCA for short, will develop and promote research, data, and “qualitative and quantitative evidence that underscore the significant economic, social, and cultural value of music,” said the newly-formed organization.
Founder members also include the U.K.’s Domino Recording Company; Germany-based City Slang and !K7 Music; Spain’s Everlasting Records; and U.S.-headquartered Exceleration Music, Secretly Group and Hopeless Records. Other participants are London-based Ninja Tune, Stockholm’s Playground Music and Canada’s Secret City Records.
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Artists that have either been discovered by or are currently signed to the 14 founder labels include Adele, Nirvana, The National, Pavement, Christine and the Queens, Fontaines D.C., Arctic Monkeys, Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers.
“This is a concept long in the making, arising from a realization of shared values above and beyond our existing collective independent activities,” said Martin Mills, founder and chairman of Beggars Group, in a statement. “Music is an undervalued asset in the daily round, and we seek to translate the motivations underlying its production into an appreciation that art and commerce can live as one.”
In line with the organization’s launch, ORCA has published its inaugural research report, “Setting the Stage: How Music Works.” The free-to-access study is intended to provide government policymakers, finance institutions and cultural development agencies with an in-depth understanding of how the record industry operates and the economic and cultural benefits it generates.
The 155-page report was researched by the nonprofit Center for Music Ecosystems, which is working alongside ORCA, and features case studies of several indie-label artist success stories, including Guadalupe Plata (Everlasting Records), Patrick Watson (Secret City) and Christine and the Queens (Because), as well as an analysis of distribution practices, artist development and income revenues in the indie sector.
“We’re proud of the artists we choose to invest in and the people we choose to work with. We’re also aware of how little actual data there is out there that illustrates how this industry actually works or our contribution to it. We’re incredibly excited to get that ball rolling with this first report,” Tony Kiewel, president of Sub Pop Records, tells Billboard.
ORCA says future reports will focus on collecting primary data to demonstrate the benefits of independent record labels to the wider global music economy, looking at the positive impact the industry has on job creation, social equality, sustainability and culture. Members will meet at least once a month, with the next report due out later this year.
“Whilst we are in competition with the other ORCA founders, we are similar in what drives us to find and develop new talent and there’s a shared incentive to making sure that the benefits of our work are understood beyond just the industry itself,” says Zena White, chief operating officer at Partisan Records and chair of The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).
White says that one of ORCA’s primary goals will be to measure the economic and social impact of labels’ investments in artist development, which she says has “been sorely lacking” in the global independent sector.
The think tank also aims to address some commonly held misunderstandings about how the record label business model works, explains White, whose label roster includes IDLES, Cigarettes After Sex, Ezra Collective and PJ Harvey.
“Labels at their best underwrite living advances, recording and marketing costs that the artists’ entire ecosystem will benefit from. Of course, there are bad actors, but many are essential to ensuring that music gets made and that it’s heard,” she says.
“We have a fantastic network of global trade associations for independent music… [but] they badly need empirical data that backs up their conversations with governments and players at a local level,” White adds. “ORCA is supplementary to that network and hopes to be able to help.”
“The music business is an incredibly complicated and messy industry,” says Kiewel. “We’re often the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to new technologies. If there are policy conversations happening that affect the livelihoods of independent recording artists and the labels that support them then we think it’s important that they have a seat at that table. I believe that there are many people and policy makers who would be interested in what we have to say, and we want to make sure that those representing our community have tools to help convey their perspectives.”
Michael Jackson’s estate has won a tentative court ruling that would allow it to proceed with a $600 million sale of the singer’s catalog to Sony Music, overcoming objections from his mother that aimed to block the deal.
Katherine Jackson had argued that the gargantuan deal violated the terms of Michael’s will, but a California appeals court tentatively ruled Wednesday (July 17) that she had “forfeited” that argument by failing to make it before a lower probate court.
Even if she had properly raised that argument, the appeals court said the estate’s executors had the power to make the deal. The court said Jackson’s will had vested the executors (John Branca and John McClain) with the authority to “sell, invest, or otherwise manage estate property” while they were in charge.
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“The court is tentatively inclined to affirm the probate court’s order granting the executors’ request to proceed with the proposed transaction,” the appeals court wrote in its ruling, obtained by Billboard. “We tentatively conclude that Katherine’s challenge fails on the merits because the probate court’s order does not violate the terms of Michael’s will.”
Such “tentative” rulings must be finalized before they are formally entered, but they strongly indicate the way the court is planning to rule. An attorney for Katherine did not return a request for comment on Thursday. A rep for the Jackson estate declined to comment. News of the tentative ruling was first reported by Rolling Stone.
As reported by Billboard earlier this year, the Jackson estate and Sony Music have reached a deal that will see the music giant buy half of the singer’s publishing and recorded masters catalog for more than $600 million.
But because the Jackson estate is still pending before a Los Angeles probate court more than 15 years after his 2009 death, his executors took the then-confidential deal to Judge Mitchell Beckloff for approval. When they did so, Katherine filed objections — among them that the sale “violated Michael’s wishes” and that the catalog would likely continue to gain value over time if retained.
In April 2023, Beckloff rejected those objections and ruled that the deal could move forward. Katherine then filed an appeal, resulting in Wednesday’s tentative decision.
The wrangling over the Sony deal has exposed rifts among Jackson’s heirs. In March, Jackson’s son Blanket asked the judge to stop his grandmother from using estate money to fund her efforts to block the Sony deal. Though both had initially opposed the sale, Blanket and Jackson’s other children accepted the probate judge’s decision allowing it to move forward.
Later that same week, the estate responded to claims from Katherine’s attorneys that she needed estate money to pay for her legal battle, arguing she had received more than $55 million since the singer’s death. The estate’s executors argued that “virtually no request of Mrs. Jackson for her care or maintenance has been declined,” including more than $33 million in cash.
As detailed in a Billboard feature profile this week, entertainment attorney John Branca represents many of pop music’s biggest legacy artists — most famously, the Michael Jackson estate, of which he is co-executor. But Branca is no lone wolf. His partners in the music department at Ziffren Brittenham — David Byrnes, David Lande, Mitch Tenzer and Kelly Vallon — make up, he says, “the most important contemporary music practice of any law firm in the world.” Certainly, along with Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, and Taylor Swift attorney Donald S. Passman’s firm, Gang Tyre Ramer, it is one of the premier law firms for the music industry.
Lande primarily represents Selena Gomez, Pharrell Williams, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Rosalía and Justin Timberlake (when asked if Timberlake called him after his recent DUI arrest, Lande answers, “No, I called him”), and Byrnes’ principal clients include Travis Scott, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and the estates of Kurt Cobain, Mac Miller, Tom Petty and Eazy-E — hardly even an exhaustive list of their or the firm’s clients. But the partners all work collaboratively to serve the firm’s clientele, which also includes industry executives.
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For example, Byrnes and Lande represent Beyoncé as a team. Lande — who served as a tour manager and tour accountant for such artists as Elton John and Madonna during breaks from his undergraduate and law school years — says he was involved in every aspect of the 2023 Renaissance world tour, “from making the initial deal with Live Nation, reviewing all of the business plans, working with her and her team on what that business would look like as a tour, to ultimately its execution.” Byrnes, who worked on the MTV show I.R.S. Records Presents: The Cutting Edge and as an editor at the now-defunct music trade publication Cashbox, consulted with the firm’s film/TV department to negotiate deals for Beyoncé’s 2019 and 2020 films, Homecoming and Black Is King, respectively. Tenzer and Vallon work on many clients.
Given the depth and breadth of their music industry experience, legal and otherwise — Tenzer was director of business affairs at Sony Music, and Vallon’s résumé includes roles at CAA, AEG, several labels and The Colbert Report, for example — “We have really good market knowledge of what’s cutting edge and what’s achievable, and we all end up being business advisers to our clients — helping them think through deal structure and the kinds of deals they ought to do,” Lande says.
With more artists preferring independence over label deals and labels holding off on signing acts until they build a significant fan base, the deals before the firm’s music department have evolved significantly. “There’s a plethora of independent distributors and labels out there offering development-type deals, and we’re dealing with those every day,” Byrnes says.
And Lande explains that artists are now more interested in building long-term value through equity. “Years ago, it was just, ‘Pay me this amount of money and I will endorse your product or service,’ ” he says. Those deals still happen, but “more and more, our clients are entering joint ventures, funding things themselves and building businesses that capitalize on their celebrity in an organic way. They take more risk by doing that, and it takes a longer time to build value,” he continues. “But the ultimate payoff is significant.”
This story will appear in the July 20, 2024, issue of Billboard.
John Branca stopped collecting his clients’ RIAA gold and platinum record awards decades ago. Those he has that are not in storage or at his office — approximately 20 — are displayed, along with other music memorabilia, in four rooms of his Italian villa-style home in affluent Beverly Park, a gated community in the Los Angeles hills. The records are etched with some of the most recognizable names and album titles in pop and rock history: the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Santana’s Supernatural, The Best of The Doors and others from Elton John, Nirvana, Backstreet Boys, Usher, Alanis Morissette, Enrique Iglesias and Michael Jackson.
A partner and the head of the music department at L.A. entertainment law firm Ziffren Brittenham, Branca has represented 30 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees over his 47 years as an entertainment lawyer. But he’s most closely associated with Jackson, especially since the pop legend’s untimely death at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009, brought on by a heart-stopping mixture of sedatives and the anesthetic propofol.
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Branca, who had represented Jackson on and off since 1980, had rejoined the pop star’s team just eight days earlier, six years after Jackson had terminated Branca’s services in a letter that offered no explanation for his decision. On July 1, he was appointed co-executor of his estate with former record executive John McClain, based on a 2002 will that Branca produced for the court. Jackson left everything to his children (Prince, Paris and Bigi); his mother, Katherine Jackson; and charity, but his estate was almost $500 million in debt.
Now 73, Branca was just 29 and working for then-prominent entertainment attorney David Braun when Jackson — who was seeking independence both from his family (including his notorious manager father, Joe Jackson) and as an artist — hired the young attorney. The two grew close: Jackson was best man at Branca’s first wedding, which Little Richard officiated, and until their parting, Branca was instrumental in helping Jackson become an artist who, at his apogee, was the Taylor Swift of his time. But Branca sees it differently. “I prefer to say she’s the Michael Jackson of this time,” he says with a wry smile, sitting in the so-called “tennis house” next to his personal court. “If there was a Mount Rushmore of pop artists,” he adds, “you’d have Elvis, The Beatles and Michael.”
Fifteen years after Jackson’s death, Branca remains an effective steward of his estate. In addition to adding approximately $3 billion in net revenue to its coffers through publishing acquisitions and negotiating better terms for Jackson’s catalog including ownership of his master recordings, among others, he has maintained the late artist’s cultural relevance through a number of theatrical productions, documentaries and, next year, a biopic — all of which have kept Jackson’s brand from being defined by T-shirts and coffee mugs while maintaining focus on his art instead of the allegations of sexual abuse that surfaced late in his life and followed him after death.
Branca also remains a fierce defender of Jackson’s crown as the King of Pop. He professes immense admiration for Swift’s accomplishments, including her blockbuster 2023 concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, but he refutes media reports from earlier this year asserting that its box-office yields had surpassed those of the posthumous 2009 Jackson documentary, This Is It, saying inflation wasn’t taken into account. According to Box Office Mojo, The Eras Tour grossed $261.7 million and This Is It grossed $268 million — or, in 2024 dollars, roughly $267 million for the former and $390 million for the latter.
Then there’s the May New York Times story that compared Swift to Jackson, The Beatles and other artists, pointing out that the 10 solo albums Jackson released between 1972 and 2001 have been RIAA-certified platinum 72 times, with Thriller accounting for 34 of them (making it one of the most successful albums of all time). Swift currently has 50 certified platinum albums — although the Times article reported that her sales indicate the number will be closer to 90 once her “Taylor’s Version” releases are counted. But Branca says Jackson’s certifications do not account for his popularity overseas. “Two-thirds of Michael’s sales are outside the United States,” he notes — sales that the RIAA does not count when issuing gold and platinum albums. That international appeal has carried over to the streaming era: Jackson’s combined U.S. streams for 2020 through 2022 made up 28% of his combined global streams, according to Luminate. He also points out that multiple streams of a single song can count as an album, which was not the case when physical sales were the only measurement of a record’s success.
Branca is a walking, talking compendium of numbers and reasons that Jackson belongs on that pop Rushmore, and preaches that gospel to his 29,200 followers on TikTok, where he has posted 70 videos — the majority of them about Jackson, among others about Branca’s own memorabilia and business philosophies.
But regarding the estate’s business dealings and litigation, he is a tomb.
When questions veer into that territory, his response is usually a version of “This isn’t going to be another story about the Jackson estate, is it?” He has a point. In addition to the RIAA awards on his wall, over his career Branca has represented Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Neil Diamond, The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s Northern Songs publishing catalog, the Elvis Presley estate, The Rolling Stones, Earth, Wind & Fire and Motown founder Berry Gordy.
The son of an actress-dancer who appeared in a number of Elvis’ films and an athletic commissioner for New York State, Branca grew up in the New York suburb of Mount Vernon and moved to Los Angeles at age 11. In his teens, he played guitar and keyboards in two rock bands, The Other Half and The Pasternak Progress. “I signed a record deal at 16, but I was forced to go to college by my mother,” he says.
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Today, Branca still projects a Beverly Hills version of that youthful rock’n’roll aesthetic. His car collection includes two Rolls-Royces (a white 2023 Cullinan and a blue 2016 Dawn). He sold the Ferrari 458 Spider that he once told Billboard he would hang “from the ceiling in my living room if I could” — and he has turned heads at Grammy parties with a beautiful woman in tow. (Married three times, Branca is currently single.)
But that exterior flash conceals “an incredible strategist,” says David Lande, a Ziffren Brittenham partner who also represents music clients. As such, Branca declines to discuss pressing questions regarding the estate, including Katherine Jackson’s appeal of a judge’s 2023 ruling that let the estate move forward with its then-confidential $625 million sale of 50% of Jackson’s assets to Sony Music. (California’s Second Appellate District Court in Los Angeles has since issued a tentative ruling that sides with the estate.)
He also deflects queries about the role that co-executor McClain plays in estate administration. A former executive at A&M Records and Interscope, and a key figure in Janet Jackson’s success, McClain has A&R’d all posthumous releases of Jackson’s music, but he has otherwise been virtually invisible since Jackson’s will was probated, in part due to health issues. Branca only says: “For all his genius, John shuns the spotlight.”
The Sony assets sale is off-limits as well — but according to three sources familiar with the deal, the estate retained Jackson’s public image and likeness rights, which means that Sony does not get a cut of projects such as the various productions of MJ: The Musical and the biopic that is slated to open in April 2025. (Actor Miles Teller will portray Branca.)
Those sources also tell Billboard that the estate retains control and management of how the assets Sony acquired can be used moving forward. Branca says only that the sale will not change the business strategy that Jackson mandated when he was alive: “Everything has to be authentic and true to the artist.”
The deal values Jackson’s assets at $1.25 billion — the highest of any artist in history, including the recent $1 billion to $1.2 billion valuation assigned to Queen’s coveted assets (which Sony is reported to be buying). Unlike the Jackson deal, sources say the Queen sale includes name, image and likeness rights.
The $3 billion that the estate has earned includes its take from box-office receipts from several Jackson-themed theatrical productions, which Branca says have grossed close to $2 billion, among them two Cirque du Soleil shows; The Immortal World Tour, which ran from 2011 to 2014 and grossed $360 million, according to Billboard Boxscore; and Michael Jackson: One, which has been playing at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas since 2013. On Broadway, MJ: The Musical has grossed over $202.5 million and attracted almost 1.4 million theatergoers since opening in February 2022, according to The Broadway League. The jukebox musical opened on London’s West End in March; will debut in Hamburg, Germany, in November; has toured North America since August 2023; and Branca says a fifth production will debut at the Sydney Opera House next February and tour the world. The U.S. touring version, he adds, “outgrosses the Broadway show.”
The recent success of the musical and anticipation of the biopic, Michael, which stars Jermaine Jackson’s son Jaafar Jackson in the title role, have deflected the spotlight from the disturbing allegations revealed in the 2019 HBO docuseries Leaving Neverland, in which two men accused Jackson of sexually abusing them as children. (The case is currently in arbitration; Branca declines to comment on the film or the estate’s lawsuit against HBO over it.)
Branca does allude to the documentary when discussing his perspective on the use of artificial intelligence in the music industry. “AI is a tool if it’s used properly, and from what I’ve seen, it will never replace the emotional attachment that a fan has to the real artist,” he says. But he also contends, “It’s important to have a regulatory environment where artists can control their [intellectual property] and their brand.” And that control, he asserts, should extend beyond their lives.
“Libel laws only extend to a living artist. Once they pass away, anybody can say anything, and in my opinion, that’s reckless and not fair,” he says. “There should be legislation that protects an artist’s reputation and brand for a period after their death — whether it’s 10 years or 20 years. You can still say things that are truthful, but you can’t make stuff up.”
It’s an idea that would have a profound effect on journalism and media, and Branca has taken steps to make it reality. “We’ve talked to the legislature in Vermont, which is very progressive, about a pilot program for protection of the deceased,” he says. “It’s been put in front of certain legislators who are interested in it, but it’s embryonic at this point.”
Over the course of his career, Branca says he’s proudest of “fighting for artists’ rights,” a mission that extends far beyond his work for the Jackson estate. “I got the Bee Gees the ownership of their recordings from [Australian music impresario Robert] Stigwood. I got Don Henley back the ownership of his Eagles songs,” he says. For The Rolling Stones’ Steel Wheels tour, “I negotiated the touring structure in which there was a single national tour promoter who guaranteed not only ticket sales, merchandising and all other rights in one bundle” — a then-game-changing deal that is now standard practice for major artists — “and brought them and their catalog to Richard Branson to establish Virgin Records.” He extracted Carlos Santana from his Island Records contract and reunited him with Clive Davis, which resulted in the smash success of Supernatural and, for John Fogerty, obtained artist royalties for the first time on his Creedence Clearwater Revival recordings.
Branca attributes this conviction to growing up in the late ’60s “during the anti-Vietnam, anti-establishment era.” That said, righteousness runs in his family. His uncle, Ralph Branca, was a three-time MLB All-Star who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the ’40s and ’50s. To sports fans, he is the pitcher who gave up the “Shot Heard Round the World” — New York Giant Bobby Thomson’s walk-off home run that won the National League pennant for his team in 1951. But Ralph also ranks as a hero in the history of civil rights as the white team member who befriended MLB’s first Black player, Jackie Robinson.
“Ralph embraced Jackie,” says Della Britton, president/CEO of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. On opening day of the 1947 season, when Robinson made his MLB debut, Ralph lined up next to him when other players refused. “John’s father [John R. Branca; the son is John G.] said to Ralph, ‘Are you crazy?’ ” Britton explains. “At the time, Jackie was receiving death threats, and Ralph’s brother was worried that someone would take a shot at him, and if they missed, hit Ralph.” Ralph’s reply? Britton says: “ ‘I would have died a hero.’ ”
In the tennis house, where his uncle’s Dodgers uniform hangs framed on the wall, Branca wipes away tears as he talks about his uncle and his father, who was a high school pitcher. “He threw two no-hitters and was the New York State player of the year, but he got drafted in World War II,” he says. “I read Ralph’s autobiography, and he said that the [MLB] clubs overlooked my father because he was 5 foot 10 or 11 inches and he didn’t throw 95 [mph] like Ralph. But he said, ‘Today, Johnny would be looked at like Greg Maddux: control, control, control.’ ”
Like his late uncle, Branca serves on the board of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Dylan, the youngest of his three children, is a pitcher on New York University’s baseball team, and Branca funded an indoor practice facility in downtown Manhattan so that the players did not have to take the ferry to Staten Island. He also funded the Branca Family Field at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Jackie Robinson Stadium. (Branca got his law degree at UCLA and is a donor and board member of various schools there.)
His most recent philanthropic effort is tied to music. In June, he announced a $5 million gift to establish the John Branca Institute of Music at his undergraduate alma mater, L.A.’s Occidental College. His contribution will support the expansion of the college’s music program — one of Billboard’s top music business schools for the past several years.
The gift came with Branca’s caveat that the institute must “focus on contemporary music. I said, ‘Go back as far as you need to go back, but you must include the rock era — you know, Muddy Waters and Elvis through to what’s going on today,’ ” he says. “They’re going to do a class on the creation of a song and how it’s marketed. They’re going to come at it from a more liberal arts perspective, so somebody majoring in economics or philosophy can benefit and get a real knowledge of the music business. They may teach a class on Taylor Swift. They may teach a class on Michael Jackson, which would be pretty cool.”
And while he may not want to be known solely for his work with Jackson, Branca isn’t looking to put the man in the rearview mirror. Asked if he would have considered selling 100% of the estate’s assets to Sony, he shakes his head. “No,” he says. “I feel it’s important to pass Michael’s legacy on to his kids. So owning his name and likeness; always having 50% of the catalog and management control; the personal property: the warehouses, his Rolls-Royces, his chess set — everything goes to the kids. That’s how it should be.”
Additional reporting by Ed Christman.
This story will appear in the July 20, 2024, issue of Billboard.